3M Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MMM)

3M (NYSE:MMM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 68,674 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 345% compared to the typical volume of 15,449 call options.

3M Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $149.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $152.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 97.19%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5,770,390 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,491 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the second quarter worth about $76,732,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth about $82,208,000. Finally, Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its stake in 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $112,107,000 after buying an additional 526,194 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, January 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.